Degradation of wine industry wastewaters by photocatalytic advanced oxidation Available to Purchase

Wine industry wastewaters contain a high concentration of organic biodegradable compounds as well as a great amount of suspended solids. These waters are difficult to treat by conventional biological processes because they are seasonal and a great flow variation exists. Photocatalytic advanced oxidation is a promising technology for waters containing high amounts of organic matter. In this study we firstly investigated the application of H₂O₂ as oxidant combined with light (artificial or natural) in order to reduce the organic matter in samples from wine industry effluents. Secondly, we studied its combination with heterogeneous catalysts: titanium dioxide and clays containing iron minerals. The addition of photocatalysts to the system reduces the required H₂O₂ concentration. Although the H₂O₂/TiO₂ system produces higher efficiencies, the H₂O₂/clays system requires a H₂O₂ dosage between three and six times lower.